Conventional united type-beverage dispensers have a BIB unit on one side and a tank unit on the opposite side. The raw materials for neutral beverages such as oolong, juice and the like are accommodated in the respective BIBs. Each BIB unit supplies each of the neutral beverages to consumers by delivering an adequate amount of the respective raw materials from BIBS through a nozzle into a cup by a peristaltic pump and diluting the raw material delivered in the cup with an adequate amount of water delivered from another nozzle.
On the other hand, a tank in the tank unit accommodates a strong or weak carbonic acid syrup. The tank unit supplies a syrup beverage to consumers by supplying an adequate amount of the syrup from the tank through a flow regulator and an electromagnetic valve into a mixer and mixing the syrup supplied into the mixer with an adequate amount of diluting water to produce a diluted syrup beverage and delivering the diluted syrup beverage into a cup.
The BIB is a raw material-filled bag accommodated in a box and is improved in the portability, handling quality, chargeableness into the dispenser and the like. For example, two BIBs are juxtaposed within a refrigerator and are connected through tubes to peristaltic pumps, respectively, and the peristaltic pumps are connected through tubes to nozzles, respectively. On the other hand, the tank unit, for example, has two juxtaposed tanks which have different syrups accommodated therein, respectively, and to each of which the flow regulator and electromagnetic valve are connected through a tube. The flow regulator and electromagnetic valve are juxtaposed among the BIB and the side plate and top plate of the body.
In the united type-beverage dispenser like this, when the neutral or syrup drink is demanded by operating a switch disposed on the switch operation section, the neutral beverage raw material and the diluting water, or the syrup beverage are supplied into the cup from the corresponding nozzles.
However, according to the conventional united type-beverage dispenser, the flow regulator and electromagnetic valve of the tank unit are juxtaposed between the BIB and the side plate of the body, so that it is difficult to adjust the flow regulator and electromagnetic valve disposed close to the side plate of the body even through the BTB was removed. It is therefore required to adjust them by removing the top plate or side plate. Also, in order to sell two kinds of neutral beverages simultaneously, a relatively large table for placing two cups under the two nozzles is required, the downsizing of the entire tank unit can not be realized even through the downsizing of the STB unit was attempted. Further, when the nozzles for the neutral beverage and syrup beverage are centralized to dispose them in the center of the body, the tube downstream from the pump of the outer BIB unit becomes longer and thus, it is undesirable sanitarily. In addition, the arm of the peristaltic pump for the BIB unit is obstructive to the adjacent BIB unit in the opening and closing operations of the arm and thus, the narrowing of the intervals cannot be obtained thereby hindering the downsizing of the entire BIB unit.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an united type-beverage dispenser in which a flow adjusting mechanism, an electromagnetic valve, and the like for a tank unit can be adjusted only by taking the BIBs out of a refrigerator without removing a top plate or side plate from the body of the dispenser.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an united type-beverage dispenser in which in the case where a plurality of BIB beverages are sold simultaneously, a plurality of cups can be juxtaposed on the table of the dispenser even though the BIB, a selling pump, and the like were downsized.
It is the other object of the present invention to provide an united type-beverage dispenser in which a neutral beverage and a syrup beverage can be provided from the centralized nozzles disposed in the center of the body and a lengthy tube downstream from a selling pump for the BIB unit is not required thereby enabling to provide a highly improved sanitized beverage dispenser.
It is the other object of the present invention to provide an united type-beverage dispenser in which the space for opening and closing of an arm to hold the tube can be secured even though the selling pump such as a peristaltic pump and the like was downsized, and the downsizing of the selling pump as well as the BIB can be promoted.